SRD release... gah!

[bigbluepaw]

OK. I bought the 5E DMG and MM in FG a month or so ago. Now the SRD release from WOTC is available, which basically includes most of the content from those modules. Gah. Frustrating to know that I could have saved myself some cash.

Anyone know if WOTC will be releasing the Sword Coast Guide in the same manner?

Double gah.

[Moon Wizard]

It seems unlikely that they would provide location specific content to SRD, but I really have no idea what their plans are for OGL.

From what I've seen, the player material in the SRD is very limited. Only one option for everything (class archetypes, feats, backgrounds, etc). Also, for the MM and DMG, they have removed around 30% of content and anything name specific. I didn't work on it, this is just my impression.

Regards,
JPG

[damned]

The SRD is great. And some people who havent bought 5e stuff may not feel the need to. However the full books MM and PHB and DMG have ooodles more content and information in them. The SRD does not devalue your spending IMO. It does give people another cheaper option though.

[stoto]

yeah srd does not have the complete content. and it does not even compare to the hardcopy books, but it helped a lot people like me who did not have enough resources to get all the versions, hardcopy and digital. for example i tried to make a sorcerer, only draconic version exists, same case with personalities, i think they only have acolyte.

[kylania]

Yeah, SRD is really meant to provide a framework for 3rd party 5E compatible products, not as a free version of D&D 5E and certainly not as a cheaper replacement for the actual book products. The Basic Rules is the "free version".

[jshauber]

DISCLAIMER---THIS IS NOT AIMED AT ANY ONE PERSON, IT JUST HAPPENS TO BE THE THREAD I AM HIJACKING!!!!

I am TIRED of people complaining about spending money and then whinging they could have gotten something for free!!!!! OR even worse, waiting to get FREE stuff because they are too damn cheap to pay for someone else's work.

MAYBE take a step back and ask yourselves, what if what I am doing was being given away for free...How would I support myself and my family if the customers for (Insert good/service you work to provide) were all waiting to get it for FREE.

I understand not everyone has the means to afford what they want when they want it, but if you can't afford to give a little back to whatever you use as a distraction from real life, then maybe at least don't FREAKING complain when you don't get it for free or the free stuff doesn't have everything you want....

<Steps off soapbox and returns to his usual laid back self>

[bigbluepaw]

Hey jshauber.

I can appreciate your opinion. However, I already have the hardcopy books of the PHB, DMG, MM and Sword Coast Guide. When looking at FG, I was on the edge of whether or not I really needed to buy those exact same modules. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I needed those premade resources. I certainly don't need all of the other content as I have the hardcopy books.

If the SRD had been available earlier, I would have not purchased these FG mods. For me, saving $100 or so isn't trivial. I appreciate WoTC content. I just am reticent to pay for it twice and then find free resources that fulfills the same function for me.

[Nylanfs]

No you probably wouldn't have the SRD is NOT a replacement for the books. It's essentially a guide for publishers to make books for 5e.

[ddavison]

We understand. We struggled as well with how we should handle it. Other companies are looking to charge money for it to be integrated with their product and others still may end up giving it away for free. At the same time, we invested a lot of time and energy into making the PHB, MM and DMG and we wouldn't want to see revenue from those efforts dry up overnight. We all knew that the OGL was going to be released at some point. We didn't really know how much content was going to be inside it until it released. We found this out alongside everyone else and we were surprised with the amount of content. In the end, we quickly made the decision to try to get it out as quickly as possible and offer it for free. Fantasy Grounds already suffers from people saying that it is too costly. By giving this away as a free component, it allows people to buy in that much cheaper. As you said yourself, you almost didn't pick up Fantasy Grounds.

Because we already had the PHB, MM and DMG done, it made producing the SRD a bit easier. That said, it still took a fair amount of effort and I worked nonstop the moment it dropped until it was released. Zacchaeus invested a bunch of extra time helping proof it and spotting things I had missed and we released several updates after the fact (some yesterday.) We did all this work knowing that the end result may end up being that we now make less money for our efforts overall since some people may decide to forego purchasing the MM, PHB and DMG and will just run on the SRD. That's what I mean when I say "We understand." Our other concern was that if we don't continue to produce a high enough revenue for our partner, Wizards of the Coast, that someone in the organization may decide to at some point discontinue the license for not hitting certain thresholds. Everything I've heard from our contacts seems to indicate that we are on very firm footing here, but I try not to take anything like that for granted.

As others have said, the SRD, while cool and full of content, is not as complete as the products you already purchased. Hopefully this will lead others to continue to purchase those products. With the SRD content being made available as part of a standard or Ultimate license (or subscription), we also hope this means less people will be on the fence about trying Fantasy Grounds and ultimately that means a bigger pool of potential players and DM's. So while I can understand frustration, know that we greatly appreciate the support you've given us so far and ultimately you are hopefully positioned to get more bang for your buck as the community continues to grow.

[Szabtom]

Thanks for stopping by to comment and share your thoughts, Doug!

[Dracones]

I doubt the Sword Coast Guide will go OGL in a way where you'd want it over the paid for version. You have to remember that WoTC wants to sell the books, so the OGL versions will be "crippled" to add value to the normal versions. Also they want to promote the DMs Guild, so they might focus more on content for that vs OGL.

I'm also really glad FG released the SRD content for free. It should help a lot with people choosing Fantasy Grounds for 5E games.

[Andraax]

Steps off soapbox and returns to his usual laid back self

Feel better?

[jshauber]

Feel better?

Yes I do.

[CrawlingChaox]

The SRD has nowhere the amount of player content that you can find in the PHB package. It has less races, less class options, less spells. I'd say it devalues the basic rules (which were, like, 3$ IIRC) but the PHB pack still represents a solid purchase, one that I don't regret in the least.

[Jiminimonka]

Hey jshauber.

I can appreciate your opinion. However, I already have the hardcopy books of the PHB, DMG, MM and Sword Coast Guide. When looking at FG, I was on the edge of whether or not I really needed to buy those exact same modules. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I needed those premade resources. I certainly don't need all of the other content as I have the hardcopy books.

If the SRD had been available earlier, I would have not purchased these FG mods. For me, saving $100 or so isn't trivial. I appreciate WoTC content. I just am reticent to pay for it twice and then find free resources that fulfills the same function for me.

The SRD does not contain anywhere near as much information as the PHB, DMG & MM - and I am glad I paid for the full version for Fantasy Grounds. I also have the hardcover versions.

[damned]

The SRD has nowhere the amount of player content that you can find in the PHB package. It has less races, less class options, less spells. I'd say it devalues the basic rules (which were, like, 3$ IIRC) but the PHB pack still represents a solid purchase, one that I don't regret in the least.

The 5e Basic Rules are still available - and guess what... they are also free now too!